Sunday, April 2
I arose early this morning, showered, and headed to Horizons for coffee and one final viewing. Shortly, Jane joined me and we had breakfast together in Terrace Cafe, returned to our room to gather our carry-on bags and to take a final look around the room savoring a last view from our patio. We then took a quick walk top-sides before heading to the Natuica Lounge for our bus call.
Our Purple 2 bus was called to board about 8:30. We headed down the gangplank, through a face-scanner and out to the parking lot where a fleet of buses preloaded with luggage was waiting to haul all of Nautica’s passengers to the airports (Haneda or Narita) or elsewhere.
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| Docked at Yokohama |
After boarding and a shortish ride (less than an hour), we arrived at the International Terminal (3) of Haneda Airport, sorted through the unloaded luggage for our bags, and entered the airport. Alas, there was no Delta gate to check in at. We learned from the information desk that the aisle 4 and 5 counters would magically turn into Delta counters at 12:50 pm.
So, a group of fellow Nautica cruisers flying Delta staked out some benches on an upper floor of the terminal and took turns guarding our collective luggage. Haneda is multi-storied and has many interesting shoppes and restaurants to explore as well as an observation deck to surveil the busy taxiways and runways. Jane and I explored and purchased a few souvenirs. A little after noon, we learned that the Delta counter had opened early and without an announcement. We headed down into chaos to get our boarding passes and check our bags. Uncoordinated lines were everywhere but with a lot of persistence, we managed to complete the process after about an hour.
We then proceeded through security and into the terminal where we ate lunch (tempura and beer) at a Japanese-style food court. We had lots of time before boarding and so walked the entire length of the terminal and ate ice cream cones before checking in at our gate and then descending via escalator into the boarding waiting area for our flight.
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| Haneda (Tokyo International) Airport, Terminal 3 |
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| Observation Deck |
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| The World’s Fourth Busiest Airport |
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| Airport Playroom |
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| High-tech Controls for the Toilets at Haneda Airport |
We were a little early but the waiting room eventually became crowded with passengers. We waited and watched as the displayed departure time became later and later. I started going stir-crazy and began walking laps around the room. Eventually, Mr. Pilot, himself, appeared and apologized for the delay. An exterior light wasn’t working and a team of experts was investigating. Mr. Pilot took questions (after making it clear that he didn’t deal with connecting flights) and then walked around socializing with his future passengers in an effort to calm down the restless crowd. We knew it was a bad omen when, after the pilot left, the crew began distributing snacks that were intended for the flight.
After more waiting, an announcement was made that another plane required our gate. So, our plane was being moved to another position for maintenance and we would be departing from a different gate that would then require taking a bus to board. So, Jane and I proceeded to the designated gate. We were some of the first to arrive and were just starting to relax in our new chairs when fellow passengers arrived and informed us that another announcement after we departed the original gate had changed the gate again. So, we went to the third gate, verified that this one was correct, sat down, and waited. At this point, the crowd was very antsy and many were calling relatives and colleagues and excitedly updating them on the delay. Jane texted Will who was able to house/cat sit for another day. I donned my noise-cancelling air pods and tried to relax by listening to soothing classical music. We continued to wait. And wait. No announcements. At this point we had been at the airport for about 12 hours. Finally, Mr. Pilot came to the service desk and gruffly announced that the flight was cancelled. He emphasized that THEY wouldn’t tell us but that HE would. Then he reiterated that he didn’t know anything about connecting flights, that he and his crew needed to get some rest, and that he wished us a goodnight.
After a shocked silence, chaos erupted among Mr. Pilot’s passengers. The unprepared workers at the counter had a shocked deer-in-the-headlight look on their faces. After awhile an announcement was made that the flight would leave tomorrow afternoon. Passengers with duty-free items needed to return them or present them for storage until tomorrow. Everyone needed to re-immigrate into Japan and then claim their luggage. Ugh!
After another while, attendants led the crowd through various corridors. We teamed up with Margaret, an NCSU associate we had befriended along the way. Margaret is from the Raleigh area and had been traveling with her sister and a friend who now were taking a different route back to Nebraska. At one point, our line was halted by a horde of newly disembarked passengers intersecting our path. While we were waiting for the signal from our attendant to cross, Jane spotted a pile of vomit on the floor. We finally chaotically crossed the intersection and proceeded to a long corridor for more waiting. An attendant began collecting our passports as we dumbfoundedly and skeptically handed them over. She disappeared with a stack of passports but eventually returned to distribute them and led us to Japanese security where we had our pictures taken and fingerprints scanned again. After proceeding through baggage claim, we entered the Arrivals Gate and were back in the same position we had been when we first arrived in Japan two weeks ago. We had made no progress getting home.
After inquiring, we found a crowded makeshift desk where Delta attendants were helping their abandoned flock. After more waiting, we were provided free passes to the Villa Fontaine Grand Hotel attached to the airport and a boxed meal. Jane, Margaret, and I consolidated our luggage and wearily began a long hike through the airport. Eventually, we found the hotel, checked in and proceeded to our rooms which were cozy and nice. Fortunately, Jane was able to score us two large Kirin beers from a vending machine that helped wash down some of the boxed meal. Around midnight, we crawled into bed knowing that we could sleep as late as we wanted to and still catch tomorrow’s flight home.
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| Lobby of Villa Fontaine Grand Hotel |
Monday, April 3
In the morning, we found the hotel restaurant where we enjoyed a buffet breakfast and shared a table with a Jewish couple from New York. We met Margaret in the lobby at our designated time, hiked back through the airport, and staked out the same area as yesterday to wait for the Delta counter to materialize. When it did, we had to wait yet again but were given friendly service getting seats assigned together and checking our luggage. After passing through security, we had lunch at the same Japanese-style food court and went to the same (third) gate where we had received the bad new last night.
No delays this time around. The flight’s passengers were bused to our plane. The return plane was roomier than the one we had arrived in and not full. Apparently, some of our fellow passengers had been successful finding alternate flights. Margaret, Jane, and I had three center seats together. Although, we took off behind schedule, we made up the time in the 13-hour flight before landing in Atlanta. There, Jane and I whizzed through U.S. security with our approved Global Entry cards. We waited for Margaret, who had to go through a longish security line, in baggage claim with her bags. After claiming and returning our bags, we proceeded to the gate. I found a light meal nearby. The flight from Atlanta to Raleigh was quick. After claiming our bags at RDU, we said goodbye to Margaret whose husband was on the way to pick her up, and promptly boarded our Uber ride back home. After the return ordeal, it felt especially comforting to be home with Zorro, safe and sound. It was indeed a wonderful trip, but there’s no place like home.